WBC bantamweight champion Shinsuke Yamanaka fell short of posting another KO win in a world title bout, but managed to retain his belt for the seventh consecutive time by defeating Thailand¡¯s Suriyan Sor Rungvisai in an unanimous decision (114-110, 116-108, 115-109) at Yoyogi National Gymnasium Annex on Wednesday night.

Yamanaka struggled early against the bullish Suriyan, who kept coming forward against the Japanese southpaw, but found a way to inflict damage on him in the second half of the contest.

Yamanaka knocked down Suriyan three times, once each in the seventh, eighth and ninth rounds. But Suriyan, a former WBC flyweight title contender, refused to stay on the canvas.

Yamanaka had a few more chances to finish the Thai with a knockout during the remainder of the fight with his signature straight left, but Suriyan, ranked No. 1 in the weight class, was simply too tough both mentally and physically.

Yamanaka said after the fight that he wanted to end it with a KO to entertain the crowd. But he seemed content with how he performed nevertheless.

¡°I was a little too careful early and gave the opponent a chance to attack me,¡± said Yamanaka, who maintained his unbeaten mark as pro (22 wins, two draws). ¡°But I was able to fight keeping my composure after the halfway point.¡±

Yamanaka, who had notched five straight KO wins going into Wednesday¡¯s bout, also gave credit to Suriyan for not giving him much chance to land consecutive blows.

¡°He gave me a hard time hitting my punches,¡± Yamanaka, 32, said. ¡°I would hit one punch, but he wouldn¡¯t give me further opportunities. And he was so patient. He was mentally strong.¡±

After the fourth round, Suriyan was slightly ahead as one judge had Suriyan with more points, while the other two had theme ven.

¡°I think I did everything I could do for now,¡± Suriyan said.

Before the match, Yamanaka¡¯s team insisted that the fighter would look for a unification bout with a champion of another organization, to be held in the United States next year.

¡°Hopefully, I want to fight in a unification bout to determine the strongest bantamweight boxer,¡± the native of Shiga Prefecture said from the ring.

Before the Yamanaka match, former WBC featherweight and super featherweight champion Takahiro Ao, who is seeking a lightweight world title belt, also scored an unanimous decision win over Mexico¡¯s Juan Carlos Salgado, also an ex-champ.

¡°I¡¯m frustrated with myself,¡± Ao said. ¡°I¡¯ve got to be better (to complete a triple world championship).¡±